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CN: In-depth discussion of the usage and purpose of slurs and the common defenses for using slurs; discussion of racism, sexism, anti-gay bias, and classism.

Warning: There will be a couple of slurs written out in full in this article. They are written this way to maintain clarity in a purely educational piece. I made a point to limit how many slurs I used and to avoid using any slurs that would be particularly egregious for a person with my set of privileges to use.

“You shouldn’t say that word.”

At some point in our lives, we have all had the experience of someone telling us that a word...

When discussing oppressed and privileged groups, you’ll frequently hear me talk about who in the interaction has the most power. But why is identifying the power in an interaction so important and what do I mean when I say a group has power?

For a person or a group to have power refers to the ability to make certain choices that affect you individually or other people. The more power you have, the more choices available to you. If a person who wants to affect your behavior...

In the fight for social justice, it’s not just sexism and racism you need to worry about. There are new isms and phobias popping up every day: transphobia, ableism, homophobia, classism, fat-phobia, and Islamophobia.

Each of these terms refers to a different form of institutional bias. Unlike individual instances of everyday rudeness or disrespect, institutional bias is different in that it is reinforced by institutions like schools, corporations, the legal system, and the government.

Kella Hanna-Wayne

Creator of Yopp!

Kella is disabled, cis, white, bisexual, an agnostic quaker, a feminist, and a social justice mage who works as a freelance writer and blogger. She sports an impressive resume of health problems and mental illnesses, including Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Celiac's disease, and depression.

She writes about anyone who is hurting and needs help in this world, but specializes in education on topics like feminism, racism, ableism, and transphobia; creative non-fiction about disability and mental illness; and poetry on abuse and recovery.

In her spare time, Kella organizes and DJ's an argentine tango dancing event, bakes gluten free masterpieces, sings loudly along with pop music, and makes cat noises. Kella has won the internet several times with her writing and hopes to make as much of a social impact as possible on people new or just wading in, to social justice.